Forum
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Case Status
Decided
Docket Number
06-17132, 06-17137
Case Updates
Ninth Circuits returns case to district court to review
August 21, 2008
The Court returned this case to the district court to review in light of the recent Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act of 2008. The district court previously ruled that the state secrets doctrine does not bar litigation of the NSA’s “Terrorist Surveillance Program” and its alleged program to collect call records from telecommunications carriers.
U.S. Chamber urges Ninth Circuit to reverse erronneous determination of state secrets doctrine
March 20, 2007
NCLC urged the Ninth Circuit to reverse the district court’s erroneous determination that the state secrets doctrine does not bar litigation of the National Security Agency’s Terrorist Surveillance Program and its alleged call records program. In its brief, NCLC noted that 85% of the nation’s critical infrastructure is in private hands and that the government and the private sector have cooperated to safeguard that infrastructure. If private entities can be sued when the plaintiff disagrees with the government’s national security policy, then that cooperation may be undermined.